Angel for a Day
by Seth Turtle
Summary: In an attempt to impress Kari, Davis decides to take a hint from TK and be a nice guy for one day.


TK dribbled the ball confidently as Davis made a swipe for it. TK smoothly dribbled around his opponent and made an easy lay-up while Davis took a nose dive into the pavement. Kari and Yolei laughed from a nearby table along with TK. They had been watching Davis' attempt to defeat Takeru in a twenty-point game over lunch, which at the moment was failing badly.

"So Davis. What's that- a million to nothing now?"

"A million to four." grumbled Davis as he stood up and dusted himself off. TK tossed the ball to Davis, who took it and slapped it in his hands. "Check." he said as he bounced it to TK. He bounced it back, and Davis instantly started dribbling towards TK. He feinted left and right, trying to get past TK, but the boy had picked up Davis' strategy. Davis tried to roll off TK's right side, but he ended up losing the ball again- just like the last dozen times. TK did a hook shot, which sailed through the air and swished into the chain basket with a *clank*.

"Ready to give up Davis?" asked TK as he spun the ball on his right index finger. "I gotta go to class anyway to help Mrs. Larson today."

"Yeah, go ahead TS. I'll beat you next time." he replied as he swiped the ball from TK. 

"Whatever you say...See ya." he replied as he walked off. Davis continued shooting some shots, while Yolei and Kari chatted about something amongst themselves.

As Davis went to top court to take the ball out again, three boys strolled into their little game. One was a tall, athletic boy with short brown hair dressed in a dirty pair of jeans and a large T-shirt with "World Cup Millenium" written in English. Following him were two slightly smaller boys dressed in generic T-shirts and shorts, who looked just as athletic as him if not more. The three of them stared at Davis evilly, and Davis did the same.

"Well, well. If it isn't little Motomiya." said the tall boy.

"What do you want, Li?" said Davis with annoyance. "I'm shooting here."

Li smacked the ball out of Davis' hand. "You and I have a score to settle."

"What's he talking about?" said Yolei from the sidelines when the two girls noticed them.

Davis smiled. "Are you still mad about that slide tackle from our game last Saturday?"

"'Slide Tackle' my ass. That was a cheap shot and you know it."

"Whatever man. Just because you got a face-full of dirt doesn't mean it was a cheap shot." said Davis. "I did it fair and square, so deal with it."

"Deal with this!" yelled Li as he swung a right hook at Davis. The punch connected, knocking Davis off his feet and leaving a nice red mark on his jaw. 

"Davis!" cried Kari.

Li was knocked down by Davis from behind, and the two started trading punches. Li's two friends watched intently, punctuating each blow with a laugh and cheer. Li had the advantage of a bigger body, but Davis was faster and had a knack for fighting- he did it all the time. Suddenly, the two were pulled apart by some teachers, led by TK, Kari, and Yolei.

"Stop fighting Davis!" yelled TK as he struggled to hold him.

"Shut up TJ!" yelled Davis in response as he tried to swing at Li.

"Yeah, butt out Gilligan!" yelled Li. Despite their struggles, the two boys never did get another hit on each other. The teachers dragged them to the principal's office, where they were reprimanded for fighting.

--------

Later...

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Davis heard the sound of the bell as it struck five, signaling the time when the detention students could leave for the day. Davis grabbed his bag and walked out the school front doors. He walked outside expecting someone there, but saw nobody there but him.

_I guess they didn't wait up for me._ thought Davis. He kicked some rocks around and headed home, all the while wondering about them.

_Man...I was hoping Kari would be here to say something...anything. Like "Why'd you do that Davis? Are you crazy?" At least then I could walk her home. But no...she walks home with TS still._ Davis stood patiently at a streetlight as he waited for the walk sign to turn green. Eventually, he crossed the street and came to his building. He buzzed the front door and waited for an answer.

[krxx...Hello?]

"Hey Jun, open the front door." he said into the speaker.

[Why are you so late?]

"I had to get an award from the president. Just open the door."

[You know Mom and Dad are going to be mad at you for getting detention again. What'd you do this time?]

"Just open the door!" Davis screamed into the speaker. This time Jun listened to him. Davis opened the unlocked door and made his way up the stairs to his floor.

_I bet TK never gets in trouble like this. Mister Perfect never gets into fights._ he thought sarcastically. Davis opened the door to his apartment and was instantly met by the stern faces of his parents.

"Young man, why didn't you tell us you were at detention?!" said his dad angrily. He noticed the cuts and bruises on his face. "Who'd you get into a fight with today?!"

"It wasn't a fight. I ran into the school mascot." Davis lied. That was his way of evading the issue. His parents never believe him anyway, so whenever he doesn't feel like talking he just makes up some stupid story.

"You're grounded, young man. No video games or TV for a week." declared his father. "Now come and eat your dinner."

"I'm not hungry." said Davis as he walked off to this room. He shut the door behind him and threw his stuff in a corner of his room. Demiveemon snapped awake when he was nearly hit by a flying backpack. The digimon watched as Davis slumped onto his bed and stared at the ceiling.

"Detention again?" said Demiveemon. 

"Yup."

"What'd you do today?" he asked with interest.

Davis grabbed an old shirt from the floor and wiped off the blood from his lip. "I got into a fight with some jerk. Nothing serious."

"Oh, okay." said Demiveemon as he hopped to Davis' D-terminal. "By the way, Kari sent you an e-mail a little while ago. She wanted to know if you were okay. Should I tell her something?"

"...Nah. She won't care." said Davis somberly. 

"What? What do you mean she won't care?" Demiveemon asked with confusion.

"...It's nothing. Just that I was reminded today that Kari likes TK more than me. Same old same old." he muttered. Davis absently kicked off his shoes, which landed in a corner of the room. "Tell her I'm fine for me." he said as he curled up in his bed.

"...And?"

Davis glanced at him. "And what? Just tell her I'm fine. Good night Demiveemon." he said, which effectively ended the conversation. Davis closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

"...Okay Davis, whatever you say." said the digimon. He pulled out the D-terminal and started punching some keys. After typing the two-word message, he sent it and hopped over to where Davis was laying. "Hey Davis, what'cha thinking about?"

Davis groaned. "Can I just go to sleep, please?"

"But Davis-"

"Demiveemon, just leave me alone." he said as he rolled over to put his back to his partner. Demiveemon simply hopped over to the other side. 

"Pleeeeeease Davis? I'll leave you alone if you do! Please, please, please, please-"

"Fine!" said Davis as he sat up in bed. 

"Yay! Davis is going to tell me, Davis is going to tell me!" cheered Demiveemon.

"Why are you acting like a spastic monkey today?"

"I don't know. I just started feeling happy when I drank that brown stuff in the cup your Dad left on the table this morning."

Davis' face fell into his hands. "Oh no...I won't be sleeping tonight." He sat up again. "Anyway, I was thinking about what TK has that I don't."

"Well he has that weird hat and-"

"That's not what I mean." said Davis. "I mean, why is it that all the girls like TK, and why do Kari and the others listen to him more than me when I'm supposed to be the leader."

"I don't know Davis why is that?" asked Demiveemon.

"I think I know...but I won't be sure until I try it out tomorrow." he answered.

"Try what out?"

"You'll see. All I need is a good rest tonight." he said as he lay back down and threw a bundled up sock at the lightswitch to turn it off. "Good night Demiveemon."

"Good night Davis." said the little digimon. The two slept peacefully for a little while, until Demiveemon started humming "This is the Song that Doesn't End...".

"Oh no..." groaned Davis.

****

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Odaiba Junior High School

The next day, 7:55 AM

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"Have you seen him at all TK?" Kari asked. "I didn't see him on the way to school this morning."

"What are you so worried about?" said TK. "He's been late to Homeroom before."

"It's not that. It's just...he didn't sound like his usual self last night."

"Huh?"

Kari saw TK's bewilderment, and smiled when she saw what he thought. "No, no...his e-mail didn't sound like him."

"Oh...*phew*. Oh wait, there's Davis. See, he's just late today." Kari turned around, and indeed it was Davis, but something wasn't right. They couldn't quite place it, but there was something...different about Davis. As he sat down at his seat next to Kari, they continued to stare at him.

"...Davis?" said TK.

"Yeah?" Davis answered.

"...Are you okay Davis?" asked Kari. "You seem... different today."

Davis looked at them like he didn't know what they were talking about. "What do you mean? How am I different today?"

They didn't answer immediately, but kept saying half answers as they tried to figure out what exactly was different about Davis today. "It's the...you have...it's..."

"Class, settle down please." said the teacher. Immediately everyone turned to the front of the room as the teacher began his class for the day. Kari tried to listen carefully to the lesson, but something wasn't right. She was distracted by something...or rather, something wasn't distracting her.

_That's weird. Davis always talks to me when he gets bored in here. It's annoying, but I guess after a while I got used to it. But he hasn't said anything to me since class started. _Kari looked over at Davis, who was obviously bored out of his mind, but he wasn't bothering Kari. Instead he was writing in his notebook...probably just doodling, but at least it looked like he was taking notes.

_What's going on? First he acts like nothing's wrong, and now he's being quiet as a mime. What_-

"Ms. Kamiya?"

"Oh, yes sir?" Kari said hastily. Everyone in the class looked over at her, and some started to giggle.

"Are you going to keep looking at that boy or are you going to pay attention?"

"Oh, uh...I'll pay attention sir." she said as she turned red with embarassment. Davis glanced up and smiled at her, but said nothing as the class resumed. Kari tried to hide herself in her book.

_Did that just happen? And Davis...he didn't make a single remark. Not a single stupid comment about how I can't resist his boyish charms. Now I know something's going on. But what?_

---------------------------------

3:00 PM (End of the school day)

---------------------------------

TK, Kari, and Yolei sat at the table next to the basketball court, while they tried to crack Davis' master plan of world domination. That had to be why he was acting so nice. ^_^;

"He hasn't raised his voice the whole day." said Yolei.

Kari nodded. "He hasn't tried to annoy me or tease me all day. It's starting to scare me."

"I know what you mean. I must have talked to him a dozen times today about practice and schoolwork, and every single time he called me TK."

The girls looked at him with stunned amazement. "You mean he hasn't forgotten your name once?!"

"Not a single time. Davis has been considerate enough to remember my name."

"Did you just use 'Davis' and 'considerate' in the same sentence?" said Yolei. 

The conversation was cut short when they saw Davis walk through the court, dribbling a basketball all the way to the table. "Hey guys, what's up?" he said.

"Okay Davis. What's the deal here?" said Yolei. "What are you up to?!"

Davis again looked confused. "I'm not up to anything. Why do you ask?"

Yolei started to get angry. "Because! All day you've been so...so...nice!!" She grabbed him by the collar and started shaking him violently. "What is the matter with you?!!" TK and Kari managed to pry Yolei's hands from Davis' collar. Davis fixed his clothes as they forced Yolei to her seat.

"What's so wrong about me being nice for once?" said Davis.

"There's nothing 'wrong' with it Davis." said Kari. "It's just...it's not you. It's like you're a whole different person."

"I guess you think that's a good thing." he said as he dribbled the basketball around some more. Kari looked as if she regretted saying that, since it did sound kind of insulting in a way. Davis didn't seem to mind. "Hey TK, do you wanna play some ball?"

TK looked up. "Huh? Did you just call me TP?" he said, almost hopefully.

"No, not this time." he said with a smile. "So do you want to play some basketball or not?"

"...Sure. Do you think you can beat me this time?"

Davis shrugged. "Who cares? It's just basketball."

Yolei cringed. "There he goes again!!" she yelled. "Everytime he plays against TK he gets competitive! Now he's acting like he doesn't care!"

Kari smiled softly. "Yeah...nice isn't?"

"What?"

The two started playing one-on-one like last time. TK was surprised at how much better he played. Probably because of what his coach had told him- You can't play well if you're worried about winning, so just have fun and the rest will come. This was the proof. TK played his hardest, as did Davis. The match was close- soon they were tied at seventeen.

TK grabbed the ball from the ground. "Your ball this time." he said as he bounced it to Davis. "Man. I haven't had a game like this in a while."

Davis smiled. _I can't believe it. This is awesome! I've only been doing this for one day, and already people are looking at me differently. Even Kari..._ Davis glanced over at Kari, who was watching intently the game between the two. When she noticed Davis looking at her, she blushed and turned away. Even Yolei started giving him funny looks- although that kind of scared him when he remembered just how obsessive she can be with boys. He checked the ball to TK, thinking _Man TK...I gotta hand it to ya. Being a nice guy sure has its perks._

"Hey! Motomiya!" said a voice from behind.

_Oh great...just when I thought I could have a perfect day._ Davis turned around and stared into the eyes of a very angry-looking Li. Today he was sporting black cargo pants and a red jersey designed like a Chicago Bulls jersey (with an American name on the back). He looked down at Davis with open contempt.

"Listen here you little runt!" said Li as he slapped his fist into his hand threateningly. "I'm gonna make you pay for getting me in trouble. This time, no teacher is going to save you." Li grabbed Davis' collar and geared up for a punch. Davis instantly lifted his own fists as well.

"Davis!" cried Kari, already half-standing. "Go away you bully!"

"Pipe down squirt!" Li yelled.

"Hey, take that back!" yelled TK, just about ready to pounce the guy himself.

Davis locked eyes with Kari for a brief instant...but it was enough. He lowered his fists. _Okay Davis. Play it cool...do what TK would do._ "TK don't!"

"Huh?" said everyone in unison.

Davis turned to Li and smiled slyly. "When you can't think of anything good to say, do you always resort to violence?" 

Li blinked in surprise. "What?"

"Why do you think fighting will help anything? All it'll do is get us in more trouble. Talking is so much easier...and we'll probably get a lot more out of it."

Li looked at him suspiciously. "What're you trying to pull Motomiya?"

Davis shrugged. "Nothing! Really! I just think that you should only fight when you have no choice. Otherwise you just waste time."

Li nodded his head in thought, still holding onto Davis' collar. "I guess that makes sense..."

_I got his attention. Good...maybe I can make it out of here without throwing a punch._

"Hey Li." Davis said. "Tell me if you really think I'm worth getting your knuckles sore over. Does it really matter that much to you?"

Li paused. Davis held his breath, while the others present watched.

"Well?" said Davis.

"What's going on here!" screamed an adult voice. The principal ran out along with two other men (janitor and gardener). They grabbed the boys and separated them. "Young Motomiya and Masterson! You two dilinquents again! I guess detention isn't enough for you punks!"

"Hey Davis didn't do anything!" screamed TK.

"Take them to my office!" ordered the principal. The other two men obeyed and led Davis and Li towards the school

"But he didn't do anything!" yelled Yolei. "Davis wasn't fighting!!" Unfortunately, the group was already gone.

"...Davis."

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5:00 PM

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Davis heard the sound of the bell as it struck five over the din of the spring rain. Davis grabbed his bag and walked out the school front doors, looking up at the thundering skies with a sense of irony. A perfect day ending with cruddy weather. He walked down the stairs at the school entrance and solemly kicked some rocks around.

"Hey there." Davis looked up at the source of the voice, seeing Kari standing nervously outside the school gates. She was dripping wet, even though she was standing underneath the large tree typically used as a sleeping place for Gatomon on a nice day.

"Kari? What are you doing here? It's pouring rain." said Davis as he joined her underneath the tree.

Kari smiled. "Well, I-I just felt like walking you home."

"You okay Kari? You're shivering." 

Kari laughed nervously. "Well...it's a little chilly." 

A lightbulb suddenly went on in Davis' head. He pulled off his mostly dry jacket and gloves and akwardly handed them to Kari. "These should keep you warm."

Kari couldn't help but smile at his act of chivalry. "Thank you Davis. That's really nice of you." She put them on and instantly felt much warmer...and dryer. "So...shall we wait for the rain to stop? I don't want you to catch a cold or anything?"

Davis smiled. "Don't worry, as long as I'm with you, my body's plenty warm." Kari blushed and smiled at Davis. Davis offered her his hand wordlessly. She took it, and the two walked into the storm with a smile. They walked mostly in silence, until they neared Kari's apartment building.

"Davis...what happened to you today was wrong. We tried to explain to the principal, but he didn't believe us."

Davis stopped her. "Kari, it's okay. I'm used to getting detention. I just was glad that I was able to be nice for one full day."

"So then it wasn't an accident that you were an angel all day long?"

"Well...I didn't think I was an angel, but I tried my best." said Davis with a smile. 

"Why'd you do it?"

"...Do you really want to know?"

Kari looked worried now. "Yes. Why, is it bad?"

Davis shook his head. "No. It's just...kind of weird sounding. You might laugh at m once you hear it."

"I promise I won't laugh." said Kari. Davis looked at the sidewalk ahead of them, and guided Kari around a large puddle.

"The reason I did it was because I thought that if I acted more like TK, that you'd like me."

"You were trying to impress me?"

Davis frowned and looked ahead. "Yeah. I figured you didn't like me before because I was such a jerk."

"...Davis."

"It's okay. I know I'm a jerk, but at least I got a chance to see how it feels for you all not to hate me."

"Davis."

"...Yeah Kari?"

"I have never, ever hated you."

Shock was evident in Davis' face. "W-what?"

Kari turned to him and smiled. "I may get mad at you, or I might laugh at a joke about you, but I have never hated you."

Davis felt like he was going to cry. This sensitive, nice guy stuff was starting to stick on him, he thought. "...Really? You mean that?"

Kari nodded. "You're brave, compassionate, and a great friend. What is there to hate?" Kari leaned closer to him. "And you're so cute when you're trying to be sensitve."

It was Davis' turn to be embarassed. "Well, I uh..." Kari giggled as they approached the entrance to her house.

"Thanks for walking me home Davis."

"Um...y-your welcome."

Kari smiled. "Did I make you nervous, Davis?"

"Well, um...I guess a little. I'm still getting used to the idea that you don't hate me."

Kari stepped closer to Davis. "Maybe I can help you calm down." She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him, embracing him in a deep kiss that warmed Davis right up, despite the chilling rain. Slowly Davis returned to reality. He looked into Kari's deep brown eyes, wondering if he was actually here, or if this was just a dream. A beautiful...wonderful...heavenly dream.

"Good night Davis." said Kari as she slowly backed up and entered the apartment door. Davis watched as she walked inside, and watched her ascend the stairway until she walked out of his view.

_Wow...whoever said nice guys finish last doesn't know what he's talking about._ Davis went into the rain, silently deciding that one more day of being nice couldn't hurt. And maybe one more after that…


End file.
